New pictorial health warnings for smoking

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has notified new pictorial health warnings to be depicted on tobacco product packs. Three sets of warnings each have been notified for smoking as well as smokeless forms of tobacco product packages.

The new warnings shall come into effect from 1st April, 2013.

The following are the new additions in these rules

• Insertion of the word “warning” in red font.

• Provision of maintaining a ratio (075:1) between the vertical length and horizontal length of the health warning so as to ensure that pictures are not distorted with change in size of packs.

Well-designed health warnings and messages are part of a range of measures to communicate health risks due to tobacco use. Pictorial health warnings communicate health risks in a visible way, provoke a greater emotional response and increase the motivation of tobacco users to quit and to decrease their tobacco consumption.

Graphic warning labels have a greater impact than text-only labels and can be recognized by low-literacy audiences and children